Zooplankton of Pulsating Lakes Orog and Tatsyn-Tsagaan (West Mongolia) in the Period of the Beginning of the Stabilization of Water-Level Regime

The interannual changes in the zooplankton of periodically drying (pulsating) lakes at the beginning of the stabilization period of their level regime under conditions of significant fluctuations in the amount of precipitation, air temperature, and water mineralization are analyzed. It has been shown that the amount of precipitation, the increase of which may indirectly enrich the food supply for invertebrates, plays the leading role in changing the structure of zooplankton. Under these conditions, the number of structural characteristics of zooplankton indicate the eutrophication of lakes, the intensity of which depends on the area of ​​the waterbody and the connection with the feeding river. Similar changes in zooplankton have been noted in years with elevated air temperatures. With a sharp increase in water mineralization, an increase in the quantitative indicators of zooplankton determined by Copepoda has been revealed.